mccollum



nu, suf/',762 Patented 1an. 17, i899.

A'. E. MCCLLUM.

ENGINE.

(pplicaton filed June 28,'1897.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. M7762.

A. E. MCGOLLUM.

4 ENGINE.

Patented 1an. I7, |899.

(Application tiled June 26, 1897.1

. No..6l7,762. Patented lan. I7, |899.

' A. E. MCCULLUM.

ENGINE.

(Applicatign lad June 26, 1897.)

.4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(Nn Model.)

UMTD 'STATES 11mm OFFICE j .ALFRED- E. MocoLLUnoEWEsr LEsEnRINe, PnNNsYLvANIafASsIGNo y 'oroNnHALF- To JAMEsr-I. STINER, or SAME PLACE.y

ENGINE.

" sPEcIFIcATIoN forming 'part er Letters Patent No. 617,762, dated 'January 1 '7, 1899.

Application filed T une 26, 1 8 97.

To all Awltm'n/ it -mdy concer-n,.-

Beit known that I, ALFRED E. MCCOLLUM,

residing at West Leisenring, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Engine, of which the following is a speciication. .My invention relates to steam or other engines wherein the rectilinear reciprocating i. motion Ofapiston-head is converted into ro` ro tary `motion of a'shaft, and has for its object to providea `new and improved .engine of this class4 which will occupy less space and in `which the 'number of' parts are decreased, the

` construction simplified, the cost reduced, and f5 the more-eccnemicalande- Afective in operation and better adapted to all classes l?A work.

With this object in viewmy invention consists in an engine provided with a reci rocating piston-head anda piston-rod on hich said head-is mounted, said piston-rod acting as the main shaft of the engine.

. My invention further consists in au engine `having areciprocating piston-head and a `pis ton-rodf'on which said head reciprocates, said .head and rod being so constructed that the reciprocation of the head on the rod causes the rod to rotate and become the main shaft of the engine.

Myinvention-further consists in an engine provided lwith a reciprocating piston head andnon-reciprocating piston-rod and a valverod located vinv the cylinder parallel to the piston-rod and passing through thehead, the reciprocatory movement of the head. on the rods causingthem to rotate. 1

' f My "nvention further consistsin an engine provided with a reciprocating piston-head and non-reciprocatingvpiston-rod and a valverod locatedin the cylinder parallel to the piston-rod andpassing throughthe head, a slidevalve, and ya rod passing through the valve and geared to the va1ve-shaft,fthe reciprocatf5'.v ing movement of the head on therods caus- :45

ing them to rotate and the valve tobe reciprocated.` f Myv invention furtherl consists inl means i whereby an engine of the class describedmay be made single-acting or double-acting, as

may be desired.

My invention further vconsists iny meansserial No. 642,454. (No model.)

whereby an engine of the class described may be made to act asa pump.-

My invention further consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described,

claims.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention most nearly `appertains to make and use the same, I will now eration, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a perspective view of a singleacting engine-'constructed in accordance with my invention in position for lpractical operation. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through valve being -at one end of the cylinder ready for a stroke. Fig. 3'is a similar view ofthe same parts, the piston-head and valve being at the opposite end of the cylinder and ready for the return stroke. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken-on the plane indicated nect the said piston-head plates together by frictional contact when desired. Fig. 1 0 lis a similar View of one of the cones for operatingthe valve-governor screw-shaft. l

Like Iignres of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the various iigures ofthe drawings. v

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1l is the cylinder of my improved engine,which may be made in substantially the same form 'and'manner as the cylinders now in use, except that itis to be provided with means to prevent the piston-head from turning therein. In this instance I have shown such means as consisting of longitudinal grooves 12 to reand afterward specifically pointed out in the proceed to describeits p constructionand opl my improved engine, the 'piston-head and by the dotted line 4 4 of Fig; 2. Fig. 5` 4isa Fig. sis

View of one of the cone-blocks used to con`- IOC ' as square or otherwise angular.

- proved construction of base, as shown at 23.

The piston-rod 16 is a rot-ating screw-shaft which extends entirely through the cylinder and has suitable driving-wheels upon its outer ends, said driving-wheels being, as may be desired, either belt-pulleys 24 and 25, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 7, or gear-wheels 26 and 27, as in Fig. 6.

Two spiral grooves 28 29 of any desired sectional form are providedl in that portion of the piston screwshaft within the cylinder, said grooves extendingr from one cylinderhead to the other, each groove making a complete turn around-the shaft and one turned in a right-hand and the other in a left-hand direction.

The valve-governor rod is provided with a single spiral groove 30, which may be of any approved shape in section and may be ex-l tended as many times around the rod as may be necessary.

31, 32, and 33 are the disks or plates which form my piston-head, each having projections 13 on opposite sides, as before set forth, to engage in the grooves 12 in the cylinder to prevent the piston-head from turning in the cylinder and openings through which' the rods 16 and 19 pass. The plates 31 and 32 have concave recesses 34 and 35 and 36 and 37 in their inner faces, and the plate 33 has simi-l lar.conical recesses 38, 39, 40, and 41 in both its faces. K Y

42, 43, 44, and 45 are blocks of metal, each shaped like two conic frustums joined ltogether 'at their bases. These blocks are each provided with a central bore or opening 46 tov embrace therods 16 or 19, and in said openin g a feather or inward-projecting tongue or tenon 47 to engage with one' oi the Vspiral grooves in said rods.

The disks or plates 31, 32, and 33 are `secured together at a fixed distance apart by bolts 4S, which are long enough to hold the disks 3l and 32 a sufficient dist-ance apart to form of the opposite concave recesses cham# bers of suicient length to loosely accommodate the conic blocks 42, .43, 44, and 45 and to permit the disk 33 to slide a short distance on the rods 16 and 19.

The valve-governor shaft 19 passes through the cylinder-head 21 far enough to permitof the securingthereto of a pinion 49, which meshes with a gear-wheel 50, secured to the projecting end of the valve-rod 51, said rod passing longitudinally throughv tlieisteam the ends of the steam-chest. .The valve-rod 51 has also one spiral groove 55 in its periphery, and in the openings 53, through which? the valve-rod passes, are provided tongues or feathers, as at 56 in Fig. 5, to engage in said groove.

The usual steam-inlet pipe 57 leads from the boiler (not shown) into the steam-chest and, according to ythe position of the slidevalve 53, the steam passes into the opposite ends of the cylinder 11 through stealnchannels 58 and 59. .The slide-,valve is made hollow to lighten its construction and lhas a re-` cess GO in its lower face, which alternately communicates with saidsteaniichannels '58` and 59, so that when channel 5 3 isxused as an steam passing from4 it `into the recess `60 and thence through exhaust-port 61 and exhaustpipe 62. This order 'of thingsis reversed on the return stroke,chann`el 59 l becoming thel inlet and channel58 the exhaust.

art of steam-engineerin g will understand the construction of my invention in the formof a single-acting engine, be described'as fellows:

the engine being in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 andsuitable steam vconnectionsliavf ing been made, the steam is turned on and passes through the steam-chest 52 and the: channel 5S into the 'end of the cylinderjl Pressure is upon. the disk or plate 31 of the *piston-head;

inclose the conical blocks 42 and 444 inthe said blocks 42 and 44are heldrfroin' turning; By this movement ofthe disk or plate Slithe disk 32 is pushed by the Vrodsor bolts 4SsVu-if-f ciently far away from disk 33 to enlarge the chambers formed by the recesses' 36and37 in disk 32 and recesses 40 and 4'1`in disk '.32 enough to permit of the blocks 43v Aand`45 turning freely therein.' Frein an inspection of Fig. 2 it will be found that the feather'pr tenon 47 in blck 42 engages ,in the left-hand groove 29 of the piston-rod 16, and when the 31 and 33, and thujs prevented from turning, is 'carried lalong with pthe piston-head the feather 47, riding along in the groove l29,will cause the shaft to1 rotate in `the 'directionof the pitchv the shaft'will continue as long as the pistonhead moves toward, heright as illustrated' in Figs.' 2 and the position shown inFig. 3. During 'this movement the block 4,3being loosexand free to rotate with the shaft 16 and its feather. riding in right-hand groove 28 of ksaid shaft', will be carried along with the piston-head and rotated on the piston-rod by the action offthe Walls of the groove 28 on its tenen or feather.

in the' slide-"valve inlet channel 59 is an exhaust,V the exhaust-K and its' operation may, The several parts nf chambers formed by the opposite recesses34; and 35 in disks or pl'ates31and'33, so 'thatV "biekmnosred @pressure between @asks ofthe groove`,`and such rotation -of chest 52, slide-valve 53, and bearings 54 on From the foregoing pfemsonsv skilled in the;

lOO

thus brought to' bear directly causing it to advance suiiiciently to,4 tightly disk 33 'securing' it against rotation on the` Having reached the end of this stroke, the pistonhead will receive the pressure of steam on disktoiperform its return strokedur .53y and cla-,mp 'block 43 between itself and said shaft and I,at the same Vtime forcing disk 3l awayi'roindiskB andleaving` block 42 free to rotater with, thel piston-rod 16.

tinued movement ofv the piston-head to the The c'onleft, with tenen o r fvfeather 47 of block 43 in groove 2S, will ,cause the continuation of the yrotation of theshaftbegun by the passage of the tenen or feather of block 42 through the groove ZQduring the opposite 'stroke of the piston-rod 16. During the right-hand stroke ofthe piston-head, as lhereinbefore described,

the samel 'action which vlocked block 42 loetween disks 31 and 33 also locked block 44 between the, same plates, and the action of the feather in the central opening of -block 44 in the singlegroove" of the valve-governor shaft '19 ca .'usedl that shaft to be rotated. Thisfcarri'ed pinion 49 4with it, and the rotation of said pinion was communicated to'gearwheel andivalv'e-rod 51, causing said rod to rotate. yTheactionI of the Walls of grpove 5.5 inthe valve-rod upon the tenon or feather 56 inthefopening through-the slide-valve 53 causedsaid slide-valve toV be carried to the left, thus closing'steam-channel 58 and opening channel '59' and admitting steam to the right-handend of the cylinder to perform the returni stroke, as before described. p

AThefeathers'of the two blocks 44 and45 traverse' the single groove in the valve-governorj screw-sha ft 19; but as one is loose in each stroke alternately the shaft is made to turn in opposite directions, the result of which is thatv the v'alvef'rod 5 1 also-turns in opposite directionsgy vThe groove l' in the valve governorshaft, as Well as that in the valve-rod,

need'not be made onreg'u'lar spiral lines, but

' 'either or -both maybe so shaped, as may be desiredto give avregular or irregular movement to the'slide-V'alveor to move it during part of the stroke and permit it to remain sta tionary part of the time.

The'feathers ofthe larger cone-blocks 42 and 43"inthev cylinder traverse dierent grooves, `which traverse the piston-rod in different jor.l opposite directions. Designating the block 42'a's the advancing block and the advancing *blockis caused to act on the shaft thereturning block; is rendered idle 4or inactive in relationl t'o the shaft, and-the advancing block causes the shaft to move to-` wardthefleft one complete revolution, when the"l advancing A blockv immediately becomes the idler or inactive block and the returning4 blockand Will Vcause the rotation of the shaft to bey vcontinued in the 'same direction one4 more complete revolution while completing 'its return stroke. Thus'theblocks 42 and- It has no crank or dead-center.

ceedingly simple.

f C 44 act alternately on the shaft and a continu- The possible advantages which this engine rect actionof the piston may be partially en nmay possess over those propelled by -the dimerated as foilowszfIt will occupy less space on the iioor, no room being needed lo accom,- modate the extended piston.

7'5 It consists of fewer 'parts and is less complicated, vbeing less y justed. It has fewer bearings, will require less oil, and presents fewer surfaces to clean. The power is continuous. One expansionof steam com- -pletes an entirel revolution of the shaft instead of1 two expansions, as required in the piston-engine; It has no eccentrics to slip,

and the adj ustment'of the slide-valveis exn It will require less material in its construction and will cost comparaspeed the advantage is greatly in its favor,

asit affords additional steam-pressure areawill be the friction concavities or chambers.

and the cone-blocks, tenons or feathers, and

the walls of the grooves. If the screw-shaft, and the disks or plates of the piston-head be` made of harder material than the cone-blocks and their feathers, the wear may be confined almost entirely to the last-named part-s, thereby necessitating the removal and renewal of only these parts. My engine is intended for use as a singleacting engine, and for this use it Will be constructed and operated asr4 hereinbefore de-l scribed. It is, however, capable of use as a .double-acting or reversible engine, as apumpying or compressing engine, as a compound engine, as a marine engine, as a street-'car motr,- and as a locomotive. 1

As a double-acting or reversible engine it may be constructed as hereinbefore described and furnished Witha suitable train ofV reversin g-gearing; but,preferably,l would construct it with two cylinders l1 and11, as shownin Fig. 6. These cylinders will be ofk equalcapacity and each of thel required horse-power to alone perform the Work for the 'reason-that only one Ioperates at any given time, they alternating in operatien in opposite directions. by sideior oneabove the otheiyfthe former `arra'ngement being shown in the drawings. They are exactly alike in allrespectsand when setfin motion the shafts arerotated in Athe saine manner as hereinbefore described. Thesetwo cylinders are, however,y providedv 13o with supplementary steam. or throttle'- chests 'tively less. `As to comparative power and IOO These two cylinders are placedside 5 .and=66, in which are throttle-valves mounted on a stem or rod 67, having a hand-Wheel-- 68 on oneend forv convenience in manipulat'- ing the valves. When the. valve in chest 65 is'opened, admitting steam to cylinder 11,

that in chest 66 will be closed, cutting oif steam from cylinder 66, and vice versa.

In the illustration Fig. y6 the throttle-valve stem is in its forward position and lis in position to admit steam to cylinder 11. Steam will now enter said cylinder and rotate the shaft therein, upon which cog-wheel 26 is mounted-say to the left'. All the cog-wheels 26,27, and 69 being connected, all must rotate together. Consequently wheel 26 turning to the left will canse 27 to move tothe right and 69 to the left. While 26 is the active or driving wheel there will be no steam in cylinder 11, and as a consequence the cone-blocks on its piston-rod will' be free to turn with it. The cogA 27 may therefore turn freely as an idler, only transmitting the motion of 26 to 69. If the throttle-valves are reversed in position, cutting o ff steam from cylinder 11 and admitting it to cylinderll, then the shaft of cylinder 11n will be rotated to the left, carrying cog-'wheel 27 with it, said cog-wheel 27 becoming the driver and cog-wheel 26 the idler, causing the cog-wheel 69 to be turned to the right orin the reverse direction. .The

engine may be stopped at any time bymoving the throttles to a position in which an equalV amount of steam will be admitted to each cylinder -at the same time, thus establishing a state .of'equilibrium or rest therein.

` 11, the two The adaptation of my invention as a pumping-engine. or air-compressor is illustrated in Fig. 7, in which theipiston-rod 16 is continued into a cylinder 70, set up in line with cylinder parts of the rod in both cylinders being provided with a spiral groove pitched to the right or left, as desired. A plungerhead 71 on the rod in said cylinder 70 is caused to reciprocate therein by the oscillatory rotation of thepiston-rod, the walls of the groove acting upon feathers located therein, th'e action being the converse of the action of the piston-'head on the piston-rod in the main cylinder 11.

As a compound engine the engine may be constructed along the general lines of ordinary piston-pattern compound engines.

As a marine engine it would econolnize valuable space, being equally effective in any position, horizontal, vertical, or otherwise.

The-necessary modificaties-S to adapt my.

engine for use as a car-motor or locomotive will be obvious to ordinarymachinists and engineers and'need not be described here.

Having thus fully described m-yinvention,

what I claim as new,'and desire to secure Iby Letters Patent, ise 1. In an engine, the combination with a cylinder, of a piston rod or shaft journaledI` therein, having right and left pitched spiral grooves in its surface extending fromend to'end thereof, a head able plates, loosely mounted upon said rod and held against turning, rods, connecting the outer plates and passing .loosely through the lernor shaft,

or piston, consisting-'of three 'movmiddle plate, two blocks mounted upon said shaft between said plates one between each outer plate and the middle plate, and having feathers to engage said grooves respectively, and means-for'alternately locking said blocks against turning, between said plates, substantially as described.

2. In an engine, the combination with a cylinder of a pistonl rod lor shaft centrally journaled therein. and having right and left pitched, spiral grooves in its surface, two blocks mounted upon said head or piston and having feathers to engage in said grooves respectively, a second rod or shaft journaled in said cylinder and provided with a spiral groove in its periphery, two blocks mounted upon the last-mentioned shaft, each having a feather to engage in said groove, and means for alternately locking one of each pair of blocks against turning upon its shaft while being longitudinally moved through the cylinder, substantially as described.

3. In an engine, the combination with a cylinderof a pist-on rod or shaft, consisting of movable plates, locked against turning therein, a valve-governor shaft journaled therein,

.a slide-valve having openings with interior feathers, a valve-rod passing through said opening and having a. spiral groove in which said feathers engage,` means for rotating the valve-governor shaft, and gearing to communicate its rotation to the valve-rod, substantially as described.

4. In an engine, the combination` with the cylinder and the steam-chest of a valve-govheld against longitudinal movement, a ton-head, longitudinally movable in said cylinder but held against turning, a valve-rodjournaled in the steam-chest, a slide-valve, mounted on the valve-rod within the steamchest, means whereby the longitudinal move- IOO jou-rnaled in the cylinder and Plsment of the piston-head is caused to rotate the v valve-governor shaft, gearing connecting the valve-governor shaft with the valve-rod, and means for causing the rotation of the valverod to reciprocate the sliding valve, substantially as described.

5. In an engine, the combination-with a piston-head consisting of three plates, longitudinally movable but locked against turning in the cylindenbfmods or bolts, passing through said plates and connecting the two outer plates at a fixed distance apart, the central plate being movable upon said rod, a piston rod or shaft, centrally journaled in the cylinder and having oppositely-pitched, spiral grooves, and two blockslocated in recesses between the lplates with room for longitudinal play, mounted-upon said rod or shaft and having feathers to engage said :grooves respectively, substantially as described.

ALFRED E. MCCOLLUM.

Witnesses: l

C. J WARNOEN, f

P. H. RALs'roN.

IIC 

